HEAVEN CENT
Jasmin brings up 100 Festival winners for magnificent Mullins
WILLIE MULLINS reached the remarkable milestone of 100 Cheltenham Festival winners when Jasmin De Vaux, ridden by his son Patrick, landed the Weatherbys Champion Bumper.
The 9/2 shot completed successive Grade 1 trebles on the first two days of the Festival for Mullins, who described his achievement as “extraordinary” on a day when Ballyburn and Fact To File proved successful odds-on favourites for the stable. But hot-pot El Fabiolo fluffed his lines in the Queen Mother Champion Chase (won by Henry de Bromhead’s Captain Guinness and Rachael Blackmore), being pulled up by Paul Townend after a horrendous mistake at the fifth fence.
Following his 13th success in the bumper, and a fourth in the race for Patrick, Mullins said: “It’s lovely for Simon (Munir) and Isaac (Souede) after what happened to El Fabiolo.”
Racing wide throughout, Jasmin De Vaux mastered the Gordon Elliott-trained pair Romeo Coolio and Jasmin d’oudairies.
Earlier, Ballyburn proved the equine star of the show when justifying 1/2 favouritism in the Gallagher Novice Hurdle, the six-year-old forging clear in the closing stages to lead home a 1-2-3-4-5 for the Mullins team, with 13 lengths to spare over 66/1 runner-up Jimmy Du Seuil.
Conqueror of Supreme winner Slade Steel over two miles at Leopardstown last time, the six-year-old travelled strongly, jumped superbly and opened up in great style when asked to pick-up by Townend, prompting his trainer to declare: “That was some performance, the first time he has wowed me.” Mullins added: “That was a Champion Hurdle performance in my book. But, with his pedigree, size and scope, you’d love to go chasing with him.”
And, on a day when his double saw him pass Tony Mccoy in the all-time list of the Festival’s top riders, Townend (inset) added: “That was a huge performance – he was brilliant.”
While Ballyburn could be anything, Fact To File, who brought up the Grade 1 double for the Mullins camp, looks every inch a Gold Cup horse following his workmanlike 8/13 win over compatriot Monty’s Star in the Brown Advisory Novices Chase.
“He’s a horse I’ve loved since day one,” said Mullins, “And that was a Gold Cup performance.”